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Notes

A caption is a succinct way to describe your table, and can be included with |+ on the line after {|.

Table rows are horizontal groups of cells in the table. A row begins with |- and ends at the next row.

Table headings are cells with headings in them, and are often rendered in a bold font. They begin with !. Note that parameters are still separated from the actual content of the cell with |, however

Table data cells fill out the rest of the table. A cell begins with | or || and ends at the next cell.

Each row must have the same number of cells as the other rows, so that the number of columns in the table remains consistent (unless there are cells which span several columns or rows, but this is not discussed here). For empty cells, use the non-breaking space &nbsp; as content to ensure that the cells are displayed.

Mélange

Here's a more advanced example, showing some more options available for making up tables. You can play with these settings in your own table to see what effect they have. Not all of these techniques may be appropriate in all cases; just because you can add colored backgrounds, for example, doesn't mean it's always a good idea. Try to keep the markup in your tables relatively simple -- remember, other people are going to be editing the article too! This example should give you an idea of what is possible, though.